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Chinese citizens go to Africa to search for gold, but their lives are at stake there. The rapidly increasing illegal gold trade and political instability in the Central African Republic (CAR) have brought them to the brink of becoming mining slaves.

China’s embassy has issued the strongest warning historically, saying that the lives, money and freedom of its people are in danger. The Chinese Embassy in CAR has clearly stated that the Chinese citizens working there are living in a very dangerous environment.

Chinese workers getting trapped in mines, strong warning from embassy

It has been told by the embassy that the passports of many workers are snatched, they are forced to work in illegal mines, and in reality they become mining slaves. According to the embassy, ​​many Chinese citizens have been murdered there, some have been kidnapped, and many have been duped into poverty by their own business partners or local gangs. Many were arrested and deported from the country on charges of illegal mining.

Why are Chinese people going to Africa?

The gig economy is slowing down in China, and jobs in the construction and factory sectors are decreasing. Meanwhile, gold prices are at record levels and this is what is attracting thousands of Chinese citizens to the gold-rich areas of Africa. Along with CAR, Chinese workers are also reaching illegal mines in large numbers in countries like Congo, Ghana and Mali. The rules and regulations in these countries are weak, due to which crime and exploitation are increasing rapidly.

Deaths, diseases and accidents

The embassy said that Chinese citizens in the Central African Republic are facing many kinds of dangers, including death in militia attacks, getting caught in clashes between different groups, losing their lives due to serious diseases like malaria. Some workers died in such accidents, which were later declared fake.

CAR has been burning in the fire of civil war for the last decade. Although there is abundance of gold, oil and diamonds here. China has provided more than $26 million in aid to CAR, but the security situation there remains very bad. Now China has declared the entire CAR outside the capital Bangui as risky and has appealed to its citizens to evacuate from there immediately.